Engineering and Military Medicine

Engineering and Military Medicine Theme at the AF S&T 2030 Forum

Hosted by The Texas A&M University System

The main goal of this theme of the forum is to explore opportunities for advancing capabilities that support the Air Force human performance factors enterprise in 2035. Specifically, this forum seeks to identify concepts that provide capabilities to increase the performance our airmen. Those capabilities may include enhancement and support of Air Force systems available in 2035.

Personalized Performance and Protection: research and technologies that will optimize individual human physical and cognitive performance across the challenging environments in which the Air Force is called to excel. A common vision is to leverage the explosion in the human sciences, including personalized health, neuroscience, biosciences and wearable devices. This area is driven by anticipated needs in personnel performance and protection for combat and other operations; cognitive performance for local and distributed decision making for command and control; personnel protection from future directed energy weapons, and has long term goals defined by Global Horizons and DOD concepts such as “Quantified Warrior”.

Human-Machine Teaming: technologies enabling humans and machines to seamlessly integrate into a single team where each leverages the ability of the other to achieve commander’s intent. The Air Force is able utilize autonomy to perform activities heretofore done by humans, enabling increased team performance, significant manpower cost savings and mission effectiveness. As human-human and human-machine teams and teams of teams exist across the spectrum of systems, investment in this area can be broadly applied. Human-machine teams are enablers for future aeromedical operations, e.g., en route care and transport of combat casualties.

Human Computer Interface: as technologies enabling humans and machines to integrate into a single team advance, it is important to design interfaces that avoid complacency while enhancing performance. Display designs, ergonomics, and other human-computer interfaces are key to humans relying on technologies when appropriate.

The discussions will seek to identify research opportunities and technology limitations that need to be addressed by the Air Force.

Some questions to consider as participants prepare are included below. These questions are meant to inform your preparations, and should not to be considered constraints. We welcome any thoughts relevant to the main goal of this forum.

Possible topics for discussion:

What are the limits of the human body in the operating environments our airmen face? What can be done to push these limits further?

What novel concepts can be applied to address human performance challenges?

What is the next generation “point-of-care” and what gaps exist between that and the current state?

How can the Air Force’s implementation of preventative maintenance technology – and the algorithms it uses to process its data – be used to safeguard the health and well-being of airmen?